'We got through the High Holy Days just as we had planned, without a war erupting and while exacting a heavy price from the rioters on the Gaza border,' says defense minister, hinting at Israeli response now that holidays are over.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman sent a warning to Hamas on Friday morning, writing on his Twitter page that "the holidays are behind us, take that into account."

"We got through the High Holy Days just as we had planned, without a war erupting and while exacting a heavy price from the rioters on the Gaza border," Lieberman wrote. "But the holidays are now behind us, and I tell the heads of Hamas: 'Take that into account.'"

The defense minister held security consultations on Thursday with the IDF chief of staff, the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate, the coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT) and other senior defense officials to discuss the situation in Gaza.

"The defense minister examined the readiness of the forces around the Gaza Strip and instructed the IDF to maintain maximum alertness and be prepared for any scenario," Lieberman's office said.

IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot decided Thursday to send reinforcements to the Gaza border in the coming days.

The IDF said in a statement that the decision was made "to continue the determined policy to thwart terror attacks and prevent infiltrations into Israel in the border fence area of the Gaza Strip. The IDF is prepared and ready for a variety of scenarios and considers the Hamas terror organization responsible for everything that happens in and from the Gaza Strip."

Ahead of the expected rioting on the Gaza border on Friday, the Popular Resistance Committees in the strip threatened Thursday that "blood will be met with blood" and that "We will no longer tolerate the killing of protesters."

The Al-Quds Brigades, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad's military wing, held a military parade in the Gaza Strip Thursday, displaying what was either real or dummy rockets.

A 15-year-old Palestinian teen was shot dead Wednesday evening during clashes between Palestinian rioters and IDF forces near the Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip.

Over a 1,000 Palestinians protested in several different spots along the border fence, throwing stones at IDF forces and setting fire to tires.

The Israeli troops responded with crowd dispersal measures, with the IDF saying the soldiers "are acting in accordance with the rules of engagement."

Meanwhile, a Hamas delegation headed by the terror group's deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri returned Wednesday after four days of discussions in Cairo with top Egyptian intelligence officials.

The discussions revolved around both the reconciliation with Fatah—a rival Palestinian faction led by Mahmoud Abbas—and an arrangement in Gaza, which would include a ceasefire agreement with Israel. It is unclear what the outcome of these discussions was.

In recent weeks, there has been a spike in Palestinian rioting in Gaza, as well as in the launch of incendiary balloons and kites.

On Monday, some 4,000 Palestinians rioted in northern Gaza, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails and launching fireworks at Israeli forces, who responded with crowd dispersal measures.

Three Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire and hundreds more have sustained injuries at anti-occupation rallies along the border between the besieged Gaza Strip and Israeli-occupied territories.

On Friday evening, the Palestinian protesters threw rocks from behind clouds of black smoke of burning tires at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas and live fire.

The spokesman for the Gaza Ministry of Health, Ashraf al-Qidra, said in a statement that 12-year-old Faris Hafez al-Sarasawi and Mahmoud Akram

Abu Sama'an, 24, were fatally shot during “The Great March of Return” protests east of Gaza City.

Hussein Fathi al-Raqab, 28, succumbed also to his Israeli-inflicted gunshot wounds at the Nasser Medical Complex. He had been shot and injured during a demonstrators east of the city of Khan Yunis, located about 25 kilometers south of Gaza City.

The statement added that another 376 protesters were also injured. A total of 192 demonstrators were admitted to hospitals and medical centers across Gaza Strip to receive medical treatment.

It further noted that 126 people were struck with live bullets. Seven wounded protesters are said to be in a critical condition in hospital.

Qidra went on to say that Israeli military forces directly targeted a Palestinian ambulance with a gas grenade east of Gaza, without causing any casualties.

Journalist Mohammed Hazem al-Masri suffered injuries when a tear gas canister hit him in the head east of Jabalia refugee camp.

Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30. Over 21,600 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

The Gaza clashes reached their peak on May 14, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Nakba Day (Day of Catastrophe), which coincided this year with the US embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.

On June 13, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution, sponsored by Turkey and Algeria, condemning Israel for Palestinian civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution, which had been put forward on behalf of Arab and Muslim countries, garnered a strong majority of 120 votes in the 193-member assembly, with 8 votes against and 45 abstentions.

The resolution called on UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to make proposals within 60 days “on ways and means for ensuring the safety, protection, and well-being of the Palestinian civilian population under Israeli occupation,” including “recommendations regarding an international protection mechanism.”

It also called for “immediate steps towards ending the closure and the restrictions imposed by Israel on movement and access into and out of the Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli army at nightfall Thursday hit a mobile clinic near Gaza’s border fence with a shell, the Palestinian Health Ministry has reported.

Spokesman for the Gaza-based Palestinian Health Ministry said the Israeli occupation forces dropped a mortar into a makeshift clinic in Khuza’a town, east of Khan Younis province, south of Gaza.

Heavy material damage was reportedly inflicted by the strike.

Since the start of the Great March of Return protests, on March 30, Makeshift clinics have been set up by Palestinians along the Gaza border to tend to civilians, medical staff members, and journalists injured by Israeli soldiers.

The protests have been staged to speak up for Palestinians’ right to return to their motherland—Palestine—from which they have been forcibly deported by the Israeli occupation.

Israeli military bulldozers on Thursday morning moved dozens of meters into the blockaded Gaza Strip at the same time as Israeli navy attacked a Palestinian fishing boat off the enclave’s southern seashore.

Local sources said six Israeli bulldozers stationed at a military site along Gaza’s border crept into the eastern corners of Deir Balah city, in central Gaza Strip.

The captain launched distress signals as soon as Israel’s navy unleashed gigantic water pumps in an attempt to make the vessel sink at sea.

Israeli military incursions near the border fence separating Gaza from territories occupied in 1948 have long been a near-daily occurrence.

The Israeli army also regularly detains and opens fire on unarmed Palestinian fishermen, shepherds, and farmers along the border areas.

The practices, often carried out under the security pretext, have destroyed much of the agricultural harvest and fishing equipment of the blockaded coastal enclave.

Blockaded by Israel -- by air, land and sea -- since 2007, the Gaza Strip has been grappling with a tough blockade, leaving thousands of sick civilians and humanitarian cases stranded in the world’s largest “open air prison.”

On Thursday morning, several armored Israeli military vehicles, including bulldozes, invaded Palestinian farmlands, east of Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza, and bulldozed them.

Media sources said seven military vehicles invaded the lands, before bulldozing and leveling sections close to the perimeter fence.

The added that the vehicles advanced dozens of meters into the lands, and withdrew after leveling them.

It is worth mentioning that, on Wednesday, several Palestinian protesters managed to cross the fence, during protests in that area, and fled back into Gaza after the army opened fire at them.

Also on Wednesday, the soldiers killed a Palestinian child when they shot him with a high-velocity gas bomb in the head, and wounded 25 other Palestinians, during protests near Beit Hanoun (Erez) Terminal, in northern Gaza.

The child, Ahmad Samir Abu Habel, 15, was shot with a gas bomb which struck him directly in his head, and lodged in his skull.

A Palestinian child was killed, and a number of Palestinian citizens were injured when the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) violently quelled a peaceful demonstration near Beit Hanoun crossing, north of the Gaza Strip.

Gaza Ministry of Health said that Ahmad Abu Habel, 15, was killed after being shot in the head north of Gaza.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said that 24 demonstrators suffered teargas inhalation and live bullet wounds. One of the injuries was described as "serious".

According to the PIC reporter, medical and press crews were under attack too, and an ambulance was partially damaged after it was targeted with IOF fire.

Since 30 March, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been protesting on almost a daily basis near the border between the coastal enclave and the 1948 occupied Palestinian territories.

The protests, known as the Great March of Return, mainly call for lifting Gaza siege and allowing Palestinian refugees to return to their lands from which they were expelled in 1948.

Since the start of Gaza border protests, 204 Palestinians have been killed by the IOF and over 22,000 injured, 460 of whom are in critical condition. video

Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian child on Wednesday when they shot him with a high-velocity gas bomb in the head, and wounded 25 other Palestinians, during protests near Beit Hanoun (Erez) Terminal, in northern Gaza.

The child, Ahmad Samir Abu Habel, 15, was shot with a gas bomb which struck him directly in his head, and lodged in his skull.

A video shows gas pouring from his skull, where the canister lodged, and a group of young men rushing up to help him to an ambulance.

The soldiers also targeted a Palestinian ambulance with a gas bomb, and several live rounds, near the crossing.

Furthermore, the soldiers injured 25 other Palestinians, some with live fire who were rushed to the Indonesian Hospital in nearby Beit Lahia. The rest suffered the effects of tear gas inhalation.

Eight Palestinian young men suffered bullet injuries during their participation in night protests on Tuesday on the eastern and northern borders of the besieged Gaza Strip.

A reporter for the Palestinian Information Center (PIC) said that that the participants in the night rallies torched tires, created loud sounds and pointed laser beams at Israeli soldiers behind the border fence to create confusion among them.

Consequently, the soldiers intensively and indiscriminately fired tear gas grenades and live bullets towards the protesters, injuring eight of them.

Dozens of Palestinian civilians were injured on Monday evening when the Israeli occupation forces opened fire at Palestinians demonstrating peacefully on northern Gaza coast.

Gaza Ministry of Health said that 93 demonstrators were injured, 37 of whom by live ammunition, adding that ambulances were also attacked with gunfire and teargas canisters.

The tenth Freedom Flotilla launched from the Gaza Strip on Monday left Gaza port heading toward Israeli-controlled water in an effort to break the siege imposed on the coastal enclave for 12 years now.

The PIC reporter said that thousands of Palestinian citizens demonstrated peacefully on the coast north of Gaza to support the flotilla, which is part of the ongoing Great March of Return activities, and to demand lifting the siege.

Khader Habib, a member of the Higher National Committee for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, said that Gaza border protests will continue until they achieve their goals.

At least seven Palestinians were shot and injured by the Israeli occupation forces in the blockaded Gaza Strip at nightfall Sunday.

A PIC news correspondent said Israeli soldiers fired heavy barrages of gunfire at peaceful protesters taking part in overnight rallies east of the Bureij refugee camp, Central al-Amaghazi, Khuza’a, and Jabalia.